Reviews
"What happens when a baseball player and a goth nerd fall in love? The zombie apocalypse, of course. But jock Dicey is determined that she and Jack will survive--and maybe she'll even finally get a kiss from him! Tsang and Grrissen's entry in the new My Boyfriend Is a Monster graphic-novel series cashes in on the current zombie craze, but it does so with style and humor. Dicey and Jack are extremely likable characters--as are the bit players--and their young romance is crafted slowly enough to get readers invested in it. The middle section of the book gets rushed a bit when the zombies start appearing, but the final act, when the two teens try to fight their way out of embattled St. Petersburg, Florida, is scary and gory and exciting but not too bloody for a middle-school audience. Grrissen's refreshing, black-and-white art gives the story a crisp, modern feel, with clearly individuated characters and realistic body types. A great beginning to a fun new series." --Booklist, "Two teenagers fall for each other as a zombifying fungus stalks St. Petersburg, Fla., in this tongue-in-cheek romance. Paired up in school as an egg's assigned 'parents,' shy übernerd Jack Chen and irrepressible baseball star Dicey Bell feel a mutual draw--which is why they're together, cutting class one day, when a sudden outbreak of mutant fungus turns nearly everyone into mindless, half-decayed killers. Though Dicey's skill with a bat comes in handy for cranking up the body count, escape becomes an urgent priority when Jack is bitten. His scientist parents have a possible cure--but can they and the young fugitives hook up in time? Though so slow to get off the mark that the zombie action doesn't even start until halfway through, the plot accelerates nicely thereafter, culminating in a wild drive in a tinkling ice-cream truck through crowds of slavering attackers. So vivacious are Jack and Dicey in Görrissen's black-and-white art that readers will forgive the indistinct depictions of violence and the untidy way dialogue balloons spill over into adjacent panels. Simultaneously published with volume two, a tale with a different cast and setting titled Made for Each Other, written by Paul D. Storrie and illustrated by Eldon Cowgur. A hoot from opening salvo ('JACK CHEN, YOU'RE THE FATHER OF MY BABY!') to closing clinch." --Kirkus Reviews, "Graphic novel format--check! High school stereotypes--check! Girl meets boy--check! Horror, suspense, romance--check! Humor--check! Girl saves boy--wait, what?! If the remaining four volumes in this series are as well-written and illustrated and as much fun as these first two titles, purchasing multiple copies is a must. Think 'fractured fairy tales' goes 'horror.' The first volume is a riff on zombies; the second on Frankenstein. These titles can be used as tie-ins for classic monster novels and TV/movies. They will appeal to broad range of readers. Consider suggesting them to some of your advanced placement students who could use a fun, fast read to break the stress. Be prepared for these titles to fly off the shelves." --Library Media Connection, "Tough it starts out feeling like a lighthearted realistic fiction story, this graphic novel turns into a zombie story partway through. Nerdy Jack Chen and athletic Dicey Bell become more than friends when their high school gives them a parenting assignment to watch over an egg as if it's their baby. The two continue to draw closer, despite their differences. While on a date, word comes through that an infection is causing people to more or less turn into zombies, and the area is supposed to be evacuated. Jack gets bitten by one of the zombies and is fed a special pill in hopes it can stop the infection from overtaking him. But he isn't actually a zombie, which makes the title somewhat misleading. The zombie story comes in abruptly after the cute first half of the book, and it almost feels as if this consists of two different stories only linked together because it has the same characters. The ending also happens too quickly. Grrissen's artwork is slick and attractive, and she clearly has a skill for facial expressions." --Publishers Weekly, "Two teenagers fall for each other as a zombifying fungus stalks St. Petersburg, Fla., in this tongue-in-cheek romance. Paired up in school as an egg's assigned 'parents,' shy bernerd Jack Chen and irrepressible baseball star Dicey Bell feel a mutual draw--which is why they're together, cutting class one day, when a sudden outbreak of mutant fungus turns nearly everyone into mindless, half-decayed killers. Though Dicey's skill with a bat comes in handy for cranking up the body count, escape becomes an urgent priority when Jack is bitten. His scientist parents have a possible cure--but can they and the young fugitives hook up in time? Though so slow to get off the mark that the zombie action doesn't even start until halfway through, the plot accelerates nicely thereafter, culminating in a wild drive in a tinkling ice-cream truck through crowds of slavering attackers. So vivacious are Jack and Dicey in Grrissen's black-and-white art that readers will forgive the indistinct depictions of violence and the untidy way dialogue balloons spill over into adjacent panels. Simultaneously published with volume two, a tale with a different cast and setting titled Made for Each Other, written by Paul D. Storrie and illustrated by Eldon Cowgur. A hoot from opening salvo ('JACK CHEN, YOU'RE THE FATHER OF MY BABY!') to closing clinch." --Kirkus Reviews, "This first book in a series of horror romances is a stellar stand-alone thriller. Florida teens Jack Chen and Dicey Bell are from different worlds: he is a super-geek who plays RPGs and reads research projects for fun while she is a star baseball player, the only girl on the team. When they're paired together for the raise-an-egg project, neither of them expects to get romantically involved--or to end up sticking together to hold off a zombie plague. When Jack gets bitten, only an experimental drug developed by his scientist parents can keep him from turning--and he'll only survive with Dicey's help. More romance than horror, the story has delightful dialogue, engaging characters, and pitch-perfect flirting. Grrissen captures the personalities of the characters in body language and facial expressions, revealing far more about what they're thinking and feeling than is provided in the dialogue alone. This is a strong beginning to a series of short teen romances that will later feature a vampire, faerie, and 'monster' boyfriend. Readers of R. L. Stine's 'Goosebumps' graphic-novel series (Scholastic) will enjoy this more mature, character-driven horror story." --School Library Journal, "The road to true love is never easy, whether you're a jock, a nerd, or the new guy. But throw in zombies and Frankenstein's monster and things get really difficult! Terrific art and sweet romances make these fun stories winners for fans of the paranormal. Every volume in the series (more are planned for the fall) features different characters, paranormal creatures, writers, and artists, giving readers a chance to enjoy the variety." --School Library Journal, "A baseball-playing girl and a nerdy boy begin an improbably romance after being teamed up in a school project. Then the zombies arrive. Görrissen's black-and-white drawings make skillful use of facial expressions and body language to convey the characters' thoughts and emotions, adding much to the story." --School Library Journal, "Tough it starts out feeling like a lighthearted realistic fiction story, this graphic novel turns into a zombie story partway through. Nerdy Jack Chen and athletic Dicey Bell become more than friends when their high school gives them a parenting assignment to watch over an egg as if it's their baby. The two continue to draw closer, despite their differences. While on a date, word comes through that an infection is causing people to more or less turn into zombies, and the area is supposed to be evacuated. Jack gets bitten by one of the zombies and is fed a special pill in hopes it can stop the infection from overtaking him. But he isn't actually a zombie, which makes the title somewhat misleading. The zombie story comes in abruptly after the cute first half of the book, and it almost feels as if this consists of two different stories only linked together because it has the same characters. The ending also happens too quickly. Görrissen's artwork is slick and attractive, and she clearly has a skill for facial expressions." --Publishers Weekly, "What happens when a baseball player and a goth nerd fall in love? The zombie apocalypse, of course. But jock Dicey is determined that she and Jack will survive--and maybe she'll even finally get a kiss from him! Tsang and Görrissen's entry in the new My Boyfriend Is a Monster graphic-novel series cashes in on the current zombie craze, but it does so with style and humor. Dicey and Jack are extremely likable characters--as are the bit players--and their young romance is crafted slowly enough to get readers invested in it. The middle section of the book gets rushed a bit when the zombies start appearing, but the final act, when the two teens try to fight their way out of embattled St. Petersburg, Florida, is scary and gory and exciting but not too bloody for a middle-school audience. Görrissen's refreshing, black-and-white art gives the story a crisp, modern feel, with clearly individuated characters and realistic body types. A great beginning to a fun new series." --Booklist, "A baseball-playing girl and a nerdy boy begin an improbably romance after being teamed up in a school project. Then the zombies arrive. Grrissen's black-and-white drawings make skillful use of facial expressions and body language to convey the characters' thoughts and emotions, adding much to the story." --School Library Journal, "In these two opening titles in a graphic-novel series featuring unlikely romances between ordinary girls and their various monster loves, one girl falls hard for a boy who has mere hours before turning into a zombie that will then want to eat her, and another finds that her perfect new boyfriend is made up of reanimated corpse parts lovingly stitched together by his dad. Of course, true love is rarely smooth, and in this case, the heroines face not only the usual misunderstandings, insecurities, and intense feelings, but also flesh-eating zombies and jealous (and murderous) 'siblings' cobbled together from dead bodies. While neither book pushes the boundaries of graphic novels (both stick to fairly structured panels, black-and-white illustrations that mirror the text, and predictable comic-book-style exclamations and plot structuring), the mixing of romance and the supernatural, an obvious nod to Twilight and its ilk, may draw in readers new to the format. The gross factor (these are, after all, monsters) is present but downplayed in favor of the progression of the romances, with love more important than, say, the desire to eat your girlfriend's brains. This series, with the flashy titles (each extended with a sequence of several funny subtitles), eye-catching covers, and popular themes, will easily attract readers; happily, they will be rewarded with sturdy plots and clever takes on human/monster love." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, "This first book in a series of horror romances is a stellar stand-alone thriller. Florida teens Jack Chen and Dicey Bell are from different worlds: he is a super-geek who plays RPGs and reads research projects for fun while she is a star baseball player, the only girl on the team. When they're paired together for the raise-an-egg project, neither of them expects to get romantically involved--or to end up sticking together to hold off a zombie plague. When Jack gets bitten, only an experimental drug developed by his scientist parents can keep him from turning--and he'll only survive with Dicey's help. More romance than horror, the story has delightful dialogue, engaging characters, and pitch-perfect flirting. Görrissen captures the personalities of the characters in body language and facial expressions, revealing far more about what they're thinking and feeling than is provided in the dialogue alone. This is a strong beginning to a series of short teen romances that will later feature a vampire, faerie, and 'monster' boyfriend. Readers of R. L. Stine's 'Goosebumps' graphic-novel series (Scholastic) will enjoy this more mature, character-driven horror story." --School Library Journal
